My Tale
by Dampen Magic
Summary: A young inexperienced human woman, Kate Montidale, journeys from her isolated old family home to begin her new life in Stormwind. She encounters many different characters and life threatening scenarios in her unpredictable and exhilarating tale. Warning: Contains lemon and scenes of violence in later chapters. Mostly Human x Human, and MxF. On going.
1. Chapter 1

My Tale

_By Dampen Magic_

_Chapter 1_

Kate gently brushed her long tangled blonde hair in the mirror.

'_It always gets like this in the morning. Every time I wake up!' _she thought to herself scowling, it wasn't a pretty sight. She hated being late, the last one to get ready out of all the family. Even her adolescent brother, Thomas, who never shifted from his bed in the mornings, still manages to finish his morning ritual before Kate had the chance to brush her hair. Kate wondered how he does it but never came to a logical reason behind this. The only other reason she came up with was because she was a girl, the only girl of four younger siblings who were all boys - her being the oldest of the lot. She couldn't help but smile at that fact, being able to boss them around and tell them off when mother was busy cooking dinner. Of course, the oldest sibling shouldered the responsibility of looking after them most of the time. Kate was no exception. Tilting her head to brush out a hard bit of tangled hair, memories of her and her brothers came flooding back: The animals being let loose on the crops, coming back from the river covered in muck and cuts, sneaking out at night, and Jonathan setting fire to a hay bale using his weak fire magic. Each time they caused trouble, it ended up with her being red in the face with anger and lecturing them on how stupid they were. They always pointed the finger on the youngest brother, Finnegan who we call Fin for short (which he was, short and sweet). Kate knew full well it was either the eldest, Thomas, or one of the younger two, Nathan and Jonathan. They never learned there lesson after it, and Kate thought they were just doing it to see her mad again. She didn't really care about that. What she did care about was their safety an awful lot, and couldn't bear the sight of her mother and father being upset to find one them with a dangling limb dragging on the floor or worse: dead! With the way they were going she wouldn't be surprised at all.

'Are you finished yet, Kate?' Ask her mother, Samantha, peering around the corner of the door frame leading to Kate's room. Kate jumped a little as she was so lost in thought. 'Oh my, you look fantastic!' Kate looked at her mother, now standing in the room beside her. If there was anything she took away from her mother, it was her looks and sharp brown eyes. In her youth, Samantha was a very pretty woman, Kate admitted to herself remembering the old portrait of her downstairs. It was no wonder father had chosen her, not for looks alone, but for her loving and caring personality. Now she was getting old and those features were withering away, but the outlines were still visible. Her hair was short, about shoulder length and tucked behind her ears, brunette as well. Compared to Kate's hair, which was now straight, mid-back length, and nicely brushed, it was fairly thin while Kate's was quite thick just like her fathers.

'Thank you, mother.' said Kate smiling at her compliment. She quickly turned her head to the mirror, checking that everything was all in order - her appearance that is. Fringe covering forehead but not covering the eyebrows, check! Hair covering ears and trailing down to shoulders, check! Skin without a single pore - 'Stop worrying about your appearance, you look beautiful Kate.' her mother interrupted. She didn't like getting interrupted, though she took her mother's word for it. Peering into the mirror her face lightened up with a smile showing her white well-arranged teeth. She felt proud of herself for a moment.

'Are you ready yet, or do we have to wait for the crops to grow?!' called a voice from outside, Kate made her way to the window. It was Thomas calling from below, his head tilted upwards smiling at her with his roughed up face and short brown hair blowing in the gently breeze.

'Coming!' She replied, her arms leaning against the wooden window-sill and gazing over yonder. It was a remarkably sunny day in Elwynn Forest, the sun coating the small cosy farm with a yellow tint. The crops were slowly making their way up the shoots as the days passed by. Accompanied by the tweets of birds and Samantha moving out of the room and down the stairs, it was a sight to behold. Kate was surprised by the scene; it had been miserably raining for days until now. Peering across the field, she caught a glimpse of a man moving towards the farm, following the rough path battered by the years of carts and farm animals crossing it. Kate's breath hitched as he moved closer and closer the farm. By the light, she couldn't believe it!

'_Is that…Terry?!' _she thought to herself, mouth wide open in shock. Soon enough, Kate found out '_It is!'_ she couldn't believe it.

'It looks like your boyfriend is here.' Thomas teased from below the window snickering, Kate ignored. Terry, the young boy who used to get picked on for being small, all grown up staring at the window Kate was looking out of. He gave an arms wave at her, approaching ever closer to the house. Turning her back towards the window, closing her eyes, deep breath in through the nose and out through the mouth, she made her way out of her room. She took a moment to have one last glance around the house. The shared room where her brothers slept (untidy as always), her parents room with that huge king-sized bed fitting the whole family in, and the upstairs landing where all the books were kept on a large crooked bookshelf. Approaching the bookshelf, she glided her fingers across the untidily placed books on the middle shelf, remember the times she kept pulling a book out and reading one for hours on end. Her lips stretched to the side of her face thinking about it.

'_I've read all of these.' _There was nothing much else to on the farm, being a girl an all. She wasn't as strong as the boys were, so to pass the time she just read a book. It wasn't untilshe became older that she was allowed, reluctantly, by her father to do some basic things on the fields and milk the old cow Bessie. But for the time being, she just read books and it became a growing hobby of hers. Funny thing was she wasn't tall enough to reach the upper shelves. It was only when she was about twelve that she managed to get a hold of one of the books on those shelves…and quickly stopped by her mother. She told her that those books were not for children, waggling her fingering in Kate's face. She was allowed to read a couple of them last year, when she turned eighteen. It wasn't as bad as her mother hyped it up to be just some factual books on the body of a human and other races of Azeroth, and a collection of medical books with some very explicit diagrams of different effects of diseases and infections on the human body. It was a good read, and it actually taught her how to bandage and brew up antidotes to some basic poisons. It wasn't long before she made her way downstairs to the living area connected to the kitchen. Ah yes the kitchen, where Kate's mother settled in most of the time, and most importantly where she was taught to cook properly. She turned her head towards the wide open front door and casually walked to open field, being engulfed by the sun's rays.

Terry was standing outside the front door, leaning against the fence and looking around the farm curiously. Thomas had lucky moved away from the front door and was now in the fields playing with his younger brothers.

'Terry!' Kate called out. Terry jerked his head around to look at her. He too was surprised at how much Kate had grown, and he thought she looked stunning! As Kate approached him, his cheeks turned a light shade of pink and he couldn't take his eye off of her.

'Kate, it's been a long time!' He blustered out confidently. A gently smile erected across his soft face.

'I know!' It had been a long time since Kate laid eyes upon him; the last time was when he only a small boy in her class at the schoolhouse near the logging camp. His family moved up towards Redridge Mountains to the east of here. The farm was located to the south-west of the East-vale Logging Camp, hidden in the dense forest. It must have been quite the walk for him to get here. Kate was still awed by how much he'd change, no longer was he a small and frail freckle faced boy, but a man. He had grown his red hair and put it into a long fox-tail with bangs touching his shoulders. If he let his hair lose, it would be as long as Kate's. She studies his face, taking note of those sad looking eyes and perfectly straight nose. His facial hair, like his hair, had also grown presenting a neat looking goatee.

'So, how have you been?' He finally asked. Kate's eyes were now searching across his body. She saw he was wearing a full set of simple steel plate armour that shone against the sun's touch, a tabard of Stormwind, a belt with lots of different pouches for storage, and a long silver sword with a shield that was strapped behind his back.

'You're very tall…' She wasn't meant to say that, lucky the other thought of him being fairly handsome didn't also accidentally blurt out. He stood about a head above Kate. His eyebrows raised in surprise. Her eyes met his '…I mean, I and the family have been good, what about you?' She asked in return, with a small giggle and a slight blush on her cheeks.

'Not bad myself.' He smiled at her; Kate smiled back and started to play with her hands, which were neatly placed behind her back. 'Well we should best be off. It's getting late. We don't want to be walking in the pitch black.' The smile on both of their faces dropped. Kate nodded in agreement. He motioned her to follow him, and she did. They made their way towards the barn house near the field to where Kate's family were waiting for her.

'We can catch up on our lives as we walk.' He looked back at Kate smiling, and Kate weakly smiled back. This was the moment she was dreading the most about this day. Leaving her family to go looking for a new life was what she dreamed of doing when she was a young girl, and that wish was about to be fulfilled today, on her nineteenth birthday. It was a landmark occasion for her family who hadn't gone as far as Goldshire when they arrived in Elwynn Forest and set up the farm. Of course they stepped out of the farm to get supplies from the logging camp to the north-east. Her destination was Stormwind, the current Human capital city on the far north-west corner of Elwynn Forest. She spent hours preparing how she looked in hopes of landing a good first impression on one of landowners there, probably landing a small job and working her way up into something, she hoped. The trouble is she doesn't know what she wants to do when she gets there; it isn't planned out. Exciting for Kate as she's never been to Stormwind, but at the same time sad to leave her family. The family who raised her from the ground up and the place she used to know so well.

'_I can always come back to them…can't I?' _She couldn't bear the guilt of not seeing them after she had settled down in her new home. The feeling of not seeing them again would destroy Kate. They stopped in front of the rest of the family; Terry swept aside and leaned against the nearby fence to give the family their final moments together. They were all lined up in a horizontal line facing Kate, all looking gloom. She looked down the line; Fin was first, then Jonathan, Nathan, Thomas, and then her Mother, Samantha, in her matronly black and white dress. She wondered where her father was…ah, there he was. He swooped from the inside of the barn, most likely talking to his old War-Charger. She hadn't seen him all day until now. His eyes glanced over at her with an ear to ear smile across his face. His once thick mid-neck blonde hair, now grey, pattered across his sharp and worn out face. Kate noticed he had let his beard grow across, probably from being too concentrated on the fact his only daughter was leaving him. Her gaze looked down at Fin, her youngest brother. He was hanging his head, small sobs coming from him. Taking a deep breath, she knelt down to see his face and both their faces were level. His head titled upwards, those small blue innocent looking water-soaked eyes meeting Kate's brown ones. She gently moved apart his thick blonde hair that covered his eyes slightly, and cupped his tear-streaked face with her hand.

'Don't cry…' She whispered gently, loud enough for him to hear it.

'I don't want you to go. It won't be the same without you.' He sobbed another tear glazing down his cheek. 'Will you come back, Katie?' His sweet innocent voice touched her heart. She knew Fin would miss her the most, and knew he would be the most upset.

'Of course I will…' Trying not to cry herself, she embraced him. Her arms around his small torso and his arms around her neck. They had a brief moment of silence embracing each other. 'And that's a promise!' She said positively. Letting go of Fin, she rose up and smiled down at him. Still tear-streaks along his face, he looked up at her and grinned bravely. He took a lot from his father, and he might have also taken his talents of wielding the Light. She ruffled his hair lightly before taking out of her trouser pocket a small pendant that had a silver-cross attached to the chain. Fin's eyes grew in curiosity as he eyed up the pendant.

'What is it?' said Fin eagerly. His mouth opened in amazement as Kate plonked it into his cupped hands.

'It's a symbol of our faith. The Light.' She informed him. Fin was prodding it softly in his hands. Kate remembered when her father had given it to her when she was about Fin's age, seven to be exact. Father thought that she would follow in his footsteps of becoming a faith servant of the Light, but the Light never touched her. Though disappointed with this, he still loved her and will be proud of what she becomes in the future. Kate didn't really bother and quite frankly didn't care if she was or wasn't touched by the Light. Even if she was she would still always think of a logical reason behind something, and not a religious or magical reason. She wasn't unfaith though. Fin would probably have more use for it now, that is if he was going to be touched by the Light in the near future.

'Thanks you, big sister!' He yelped happily bouncing up and down on the spot. At least he wasn't crying anymore. She turned her attention to the next in line, Jonathan. He was slightly shorter than Kate, about a head or so shorter.

'I hope to see you in Dalaran in the near future.' She remarked. At a young age, Jonathan was showing signs of being a mage. Kate noted that fondly when she caught him showing the other brothers a new fire spell he'd manage to conjure. The sight of her startled him and he accidentally threw the tiny ball of fire at a stray hay bale. Thankfully it was outside of the farm and the fire vanished after the hay bale had been burnt to a crisp. Furious, she grabbed him by the ear and threw him into the kitchen explaining to mother and father what he had done. He did have his moments, however he turned out to be quite an intellectual individual, and Kate grew fond of him by discussing the books they read on the shelf. Throwing his brown curly hair to the side, he smirked at her.

'Actually, I was thinking more of the head of the Kirin Tor - ahead of Rhonin himself!' He snapped arrogantly. Kate knew he was joking, and chuckled lightly with him.

'Don't be too cocky, remember what I told you about what happens to arrogant mages?!' She poked her long slick finger into his shoulder.

'Oww…' He moaned. Kate withdrew her finger and drew a devilish smile at him. She then proceeded to hug him and told him that she'd miss their debates of logical verses magical reasoning. Father hated how heated that debate got, and sometimes joined in telling them they were both wrong about their opinions and nattered on about the Light.

'Control that magic, ok! I don't want to return to a house full of sheep, or the farm on fire thank you very much!' He rubbed the back of his head and snickered at her. She then laid her eyes on Nathan, who had his eyes laid on her as well. When she was stood next to him, he stood about the same height as Kate. His brown long hair plastered his face and reached his shoulders.

'I hope I don't see you sneaking around Stormwind!' She said, playfully. Nathan was an odd boy; he didn't talk too much and was strangely shy - a bit of rogue. He was the culprit behind letting the animals free out of the barn that one night. Kate still remembers his whimpering voice as he tried to explain to her and their parents how it happened. He wanted to see father's old War-Charger and "accidentally" let the animals lose. Kate was sure Thomas got into his head and convinced him to do it as a dare. Father and mother wondered where he managed to get those lock picking skills from, probably from school. Little did they know that Kate herself showed him how to do it. It was when they were younger, she read it somewhere in a book and wanted to try it herself on father's old chest in his room. Nathan threatened to tell father and mother but was quickly silenced by a slap to the face. She regretted it, but it had to be done. He started to cry then, and to make up for it she showed him how to open a lock with a hairpin. They managed to open one of the locks on the chest, but heard a noise downstairs and scurried out the room as if their lives depended on it. Since then, they practiced together in secret on the barn door, the front door, and some of the windows in their rooms. They both got quite good at it with Nathan being the better of them both. Kate knew he had extra practice on the locked window in the boys room, his bed was right underneath it!

'Ye…' He said, gloomily. Just like Fin, he too would miss Kate the most. His eyes were fixated on his shoes. Kate lifted his chin up with two fingers of her right hand.

'Listen. Once you come of age, come find me in Stormwind…Or I will come and find you!' His Breath hitched at that moment, a small strand of sweat coming down his face. Kate then smiled happily and they both hugged each other, tightly. 'I will always come back, don't worry. You have Fin's word as well.' She let go of him and took a step back. Slowly his mouth curled in a smile. 'Now there's a smile…' she added. Her attention turned towards Thomas, who was smirking at her.

'What are you smirking at?' Kate acknowledged as she strode towards him, planting herself in front him. He was taller than Kate, about half a head taller, close to Terry's height. Unlike the others, his hair was short like a soldier's hair cut. 'Now that I'm gone, you'll have to take my place. And that position is very important, and stressful!'

'I won't be as strict as you; in fact the place wouldn't be as tense!' Kate scowled at that, he just had to do this even when she was leaving. Unlike the other brothers, Thomas was the most mischievous by far. Most of the events that happened on the farm were mainly caused by him. He loved to create scenes and entertain the other brothers, and annoy Kate. A real joker he was. Kate wouldn't be at all surprised if he ended up as the ring leader of the Darkmoon Faire circus. Despite this, Thomas will definitely be the highlight of Kate's memories on the farm, and in turn the one she will miss the most.

'I'll miss you…' Admitted Kate. They both, like with all the other brothers, embraced. She stepped back after their moment. 'Please, take care of the farm, especially mother…and Fin. Father doesn't have much time left…' she said as quietly as possible for Thomas to hear. Everyone, except Fin, knew that father's time was running short, he was old and getting weaker by the day. It would be devastating for Fin, and Kate wouldn't be there to comfort him. She was already prepared for that day, "remain vigilant" as the ancient Draenei race said (she read that in a book) and most of all focused on maintaining the family spirit.

'You have my word, Kate' Thomas stated. Even though he was an absolute clown sometimes, he does remain true to his words. She learned that from when he told father that he'd get all the animals back to where they were, after the animal stampede barn incident. Father didn't think he would do it, but he managed to in an hour. All the animals placed back to where they were original without a hint of evidence of there ever being an animal stampede. Kate sighed in relief, knowing that there was actually light at the end of the tunnel for him. She cared an awful lot for her brothers, and wanted them to turn out as well respected members of their race.

'Don't forget about me.' Her mother called, she was next in line. Relieved to hear her voice again, Kate ran over to her and hugged her. 'Now, now, don't get too hasty…remember what I said…' "Rushing only leads to idiotic actions and imperfection!" She shouted at Kate when she was learning to cook from her. Strangely, she couldn't really remember why she shouted at her. Most likely from whisking the eggs too fast and making a mess in the kitchen, and leaving hardly a scrap of yoke in the bowl. Kate loved her mother other than anything else, she taught her an exceeding large amount about life, and she'd never forget what she taught her about cooking. Her mother was easily the best cook, she know almost every recipe off by heart from those battered cook books. Oddly enough, she didn't allow anyone to peer into those books, not even Kate, said they hold ancient long forgotten recipes including old troll alchemy recipes! Kate had none of it and thought it was flat out ridiculous…until she was allowed one day by her mother to look into it. She couldn't believe it, she was right all along, and the book did contain an old recipe of Troll Mojo. Her mother didn't dare brew it up. It would most likely anger the Loa, the ancient troll spirits that Kate read somewhere in a book. She didn't even think it was possible to brew "Mojo" and still has suspicions of it just being a silly joke.

'My young Kate, all grown up and wanting to leave us…' Kate sensed a slight tremble in her voice.

'Don't worry, I'll be fine mother!' Kate said trying to rectify the situation, trying to make it less upsetting than it actually is for her family.

'I have a present for you.' She said to Kate who was surprised by her words. She reached behind her and grabbed an old battered book from the workbench outside the barn door, handing it to Kate. By the Light, she had given her one of her ancient recipe books. Kate quickly flicked the pages to find it, and there it was on page 94: Recipe - Troll Mojo. She looked up at her mother in tears and embraced her for one last time.

'Thank you…' Kate trembled as tears poured down her face gently. This was a special gift, no an heirloom of the family. Finally, she could now see where she got those amazing recipes from. Kate couldn't wait to try them out, thinking of all the delightful things that could happen. She could open up the best food stall in Stormwind with this book. She released from her mother's grasp, and held onto the book with her left-hand.

'Do you want me to carry that book for you, Kate?' Terry asked. It was polite of him to do so, but she wanted to keep hold of it for now. She shook her head at him, Terry nodding and retreating back to his original position. With a small nod her mother's way, she gazed over at the last man in line: her father. She made her way towards him and stood dead still in front him, silence broke between them. She couldn't help but notice he was looking pale faced, and slightly struggling to hold himself up on that walking stick of his. Kate looked at the man that stood before her, now only a shade of his past. Knight-Lieutenant Charles Montidale, member of the Knights of the Silver Hand. He didn't reveal his past much; only giving hints that he used to work for them in the Cathedral of Stormwind. It was hard to believe such a person can frail and weaken, resulting in him hiding away on a farm in the middle of nowhere. He made sure that the Order didn't contact him, to his surprise it actually worked. Kate didn't mind the idea of a handsome paladin coming to stay at the farm for training. She didn't seem to understand why he gave up on a prestigious position, feeble or not the Cathedral surely would have allowed him to stay. She wondered what her life would have been like if he did stay in Stormwind, and being one of those rich aristocrat women who are more worried about what they wear than how much they actually contribute to society- she read that one in a book. Actually, no, she'd hate being one of them, shuddering at the thought of it. And there he was, Charles Montidale, smiling at his daughter with open arms.

'Come here…give your old man a hug.' His old croaky voice called out to her. Before she knew it, she was in her father's arms for one last time. 'I don't know what we would do without you, Kate. After all you are the back-bone of the family.' Come to think of it, she actually was. Mother and father were both getting old and couldn't muster up the strength to work on the fields, nor take care of the younger siblings. It was Kate who took the orders from her father. She was always willing to carry them out and do anything to help, and most of all keep the farm running. It had been like this ever since Fin was born; father was getting exhausted after he'd done a hard day's work on the field. They were far from wealthy and couldn't afford to pay the wages of a farmhand, despite their pay being abysmally minimum. Mother took over for a while until the boys were mature enough to start managing the fields. Kate still remembers ordering her brothers to feed the animals in the barn, plant the seeds of crops and harvest them manually when they were fully grown, and most of all taking care of her father. Being in his presence the majority of the time wasn't so bad.She was tasked with simple things like helping him up and down the stairs, filling up the bath tub for when he needed a wash, and of course delivering messages from the small post box hanging on the side of the barn house. At least he wasn't completely useless on the farm, as he still managed the business and financial side of things - when he means business, he means business. He would sometimes get visitors ranging from food suppliers arranging deliveries to and from the farm, and high-class clerks from Stormwind who collected tax. Father hated them, said they were nothing but money scoundrels and had no real business on the farm. Kate was allowed to sit next to him in the living area when he did these meetings; father said it would be up to her to conduct these meetings after he'd pass away, so it was best to start learning young. One time she even managed to swoon one of the young inexperienced food suppliers to give the farm a couple of gold knocked off the price they were offering for them. Father wasn't pleased, and later bluntly said it was only because he wanted to bed her. Oh yes, Charles was definitely protective over Kate. He didn't allow her to bring any boys home when she was younger. Kate still wondered if it's still true; it most likely is. They both let go of each other after a couple of minutes.

'Well, we've all had our moments together; it's time to get down to business.' He looked behind Kate and using his free hand, raised it in the air, and curled his fingers towards him signalling Terry to come over. The rest of the family cleared off, Samantha hurried to the kitchen in case the dinner burnt, and the brothers moving to their own tasks on the farm. Kate, Terry, and Charles surrounded the work bench where there was a tattered-stained coloured map of Elwynn Forest spread across the area of the workbench surface. Tiny red trails of ink covered a specific path on the map, leading to a big 'X' on their destination, Stormwind.

'First of all, I'd like to thank you for coming on short-notice, Terry. You are doing a huge favour for me and my daughter.' Praised Charles. Terry nodded his head in acknowledgement. Charles's bony finger pointed to where they were on the map, and started to trail his finger along the ink-stridden path. 'This is the path you'd be taking. I took the liberty of planning out the route for you both, finding the safest route to take. Thankfully, the safest path is the most simplest. You may have some problems trying to find your way out of here and onto the main path, but surely it's nothing both of you can't handle.' His head tilted upwards watching them both waiting for a response, and was finally met with nodding heads from both Kate and Terry. Kate felt nervous about this, which she shouldn't be as she was going to be protected by an escort. It felt as though she had accidentally stumbled into an Alliance war meeting. Her eyes fell on Terry, who didn't seem at all shook by Charles's dramatic plan. He returned her stare with a small, but reassuring, smile as though he was saying _"_Don't worry Kate; I'll be by your side." Kate was thankful for his reassurance and felt a little bit better, still feeling butterflies in her stomach though.

'Apologies for interrupting,' Terry said boldly, his eyes fixed on Charles. He had a questioning look on his face as Terry spoke. 'I wanted to ask something…why did you want _me _to escort Kate? Surely there are others available nearby.' Terry noticed the raised eyebrow on Charles's wrinkly face, promoting him to elaborate.

'You're not having second thoughts are you?' Ask Charles with a stern voice. Kate and Terry noticed the annoyance in his voice. Kate sighed, she knew how easy it was to anger father and hoped that Terry didn't just get on his bad side.

'Oh no, no!' Terry replied hastily, stammering a little as he added 'I w-would be happy to escort you Kate! No questions asked!' Terry exhaled in relief as Charles's eyebrows dropped and his face lighten up. Now that the tension calmed between them, Terry spoke again. Kate wished he would just shut his mouth and leave together for Stormwind already before father could cancel the entire journey all together. 'It's just…well…maybe some of the other boys near the logging camp could have escorted her. I'm just wondering why you chose me, that is all.'

'Because you are the only one I trust to escort Kate safely.' Charles finally answered. Terry's face was filled with surprise, he wasn't expecting that answer. Kate, however, was expecting that. She knew that the other boys near the logging camp were always after her, the girls also being jealous, and father didn't want her or any of the family to have anything to do with them, not even their families. It was probably because he didn't exactly know them too well, or they somehow had a huge fall out when they moved to Elwynn Forest. Thinking about it, she remembered that none of the families of the other boys and girls who attended the same school, and lived nearby, never once stepped onto the farm - not even a simple greeting. Terry's family was quite different, before they moved away. They used to pop by every once in a while, and sometimes used to stay over for dinner. Father was good friends with Terry's father, Malcolm, the local tailor, said they both used to go out fishing near the river opposite the farm. He managed to get their new address in Redridge and write to them every now and then. It was no wonder he trusted Terry, being the only child of one of his best friends.

'I'm honoured to be of service.' He stated gently with a hint of surprise in his voice. He was going to bow but was quickly stopped with a hand to the shoulder by Charles.

'Now for the equipment…' Charles reached for the already opened large-black satchel on top of a small barrel of seeds nearby. He held it up on the table and carelessly poured the contents of the satchel across the map, hearing the sound of various different objects dropping on the workbench. Kate was shocked by what fell out of the bag: a pocket sized metal compass, a tiny linen cloth bag (which could possible contain some gold), small scrolls neatly wrapped up, a belt with an extraordinarily huge array of pockets, and a pair of what looked to be daggers sheathed in a leather covers. Kate immediately reached for one of the daggers, pulling the sheath off. It was a steel dagger, the blade glistening in the sun, pointy, and extremely sharp. Kate grabbed hold of the handle and noticed it was easy to guide the dagger in the air with good precise blows.

'Careful. You don't want to unintentionally poke someone's eye out.' Charles remarked sharply. Kate put the dagger back into its sheath, her moment of giddiness passing. 'You can keep the bag, by the way.' I wouldn't hurt to have more carrying space for all the things she'll collect in the near future.

'I'll keep hold of it for you.' Terry offered. This time, Kate accepted and he strapped the empty satchel onto his already cluttered belt. Meanwhile, Kate was rummaging through the contents of the small pouch, which did contain gold as she predicted. It contained about five gold, ten silver, and a copper coin. '_A copper for good luck' _She thought to herself. This was too generous of her father, and Kate felt a bit bad for taking money off of her already poor family. The guilt was starting to show on her face.

'Don't spend all of that in one night. I don't want you coming back tomorrow asking for more!' chuckled Charles, trying to lighten the mood. After satisfying her curiosities with the items in front of her, she turned to her father who was blankly smiling at her.

'This is all too much…You didn't have to any of this…' She said, guiltily.

'Stop it. Don't worry about our finances, Kate. To tell you the truth, I've been saving that gold up for this very day.' Admitted Charles. Kate trembled at his words.

'Thank you so much, I'll never forget this.' With tears rushing down her face, she wrapped her arms around her father, gently kissing his cheek. Charles returned the hug with his daughter sobbing in his shoulder. Terry, trying his best to keep a hardened face, couldn't help wipe his watering eyes.

'Now now, what would everyone think of my strong daughter if they saw her crying…' He gently comforted her for a moment, closing his eyes and patting the back of her hair covered neck. Shortly, that moment passed. He wiped the tears off her face and grinned as she moved towards Terry. 'You'd better get going. Take your things.' He blandly reminded them. Terry was stood beside Kate as she threaded the belt through her black-tinted trousers, snaking around her waist. She placed the pouch of gold in one her front pockets of the belt, the daggers buckled in the belt parallel to each other on each side of Kate's waist (in case she need them), the compass in one of her back pouches. She grabbed the scrolls from the workbench while Terry folded up the map which showed their route, and stationed it in one of his front belt pockets to refer to quickly.

'I'll take those...And that book too. Don't want to be carrying that thing around in all day, do you?' Terry ordered, teasing her. Kate gave him the scrolls and her mother's old cook book. He shoved the scrolls into the satchel given to him by Charles, and carefully slid the ancient book into it as well. They both looked at each and other, both well prepared for the journey and ready to go.

'Oh, I almost forgot!' Charles disappeared into the barn out of sight and a second late he came back, placing something into Kate's hand. Kate took a moment to take what just happened in, it happened in a flash. She gazed down at what was in her hand. _'A rose…' _It was a single rose, thorn-less, and it had fully bloomed. Kate thought this was a strange gift. Roses were quite common to find around the forest, heck there were a few patches of them around farm. She looked up at her father with a confused face.

'It's special…' He vaguely explained with a smile on his face. Kate didn't understand what he meant. Of course it was special since it was a gift from her father. 'I've been experimenting with objects lately, living and un-living, injecting them some holy magic of the Light. The rose that you're holding was one my many tests, and astoundingly it worked!' Kate probed the rose softly, and found that the flower head never changed its position. No matter how hard she pressed, it would always return back to original state. Admittedly, Kate found this to be fascinating. The power of the Light works wonders. Finally she understood what it meant.

'It can never die…' finishing her father's sentence. Charles nodded in agreement.

'Ah, Kate. You are always ahead of me, I don't think I can keep up with you anymore…' He confessed, glumly. 'Don't tell your mother. She'd go mad!' He held out a hearty laugh. Kate chuckled with him lightly. He was right: she would go mad. If Kate wasn't leaving, she would be terribly concerned for his safety and health. Using his holy powers drained away the last remaining scraps of energy he had remaining, and that energy should be used for living as long as possible. 'I don't have much time left, I am aware of that. Instead of wailing away my time, I decided to make something special for you: a token. I won't be here for very long, but the rose will be…'

'You will always be by my side…' She fully understood now, why it was special. Bending the stem of the rose, she pushed the rose between her head and the top of her right ear, tucking it behind the gap there with her right hand checking it was in the right place. A scarlet rose poked out of her thick-long-blonde hair from the right side her face (from Kate's right). '…Thank you.' she finally said in almost a whisper.

'You'd best get going, I've been waffling on for a while now. When you reach Stormwind and you've settled, please write to us. If you run into trouble, find Veronica at the Cathedral.' Oh no. Veronica, the old bint who was the only paladin of the Knights of the Silver Hand who knew where father was staying. And the only one who came to visit every couples of months or so. Just the sound of her name made Kate quiver in disgust and leave a horrid scowl on her face. She was a right cow! Charging in on her war-charger barking at Kate to take it from her and led it into the barn house, making snide remarks at her mother's cooking as well as Kate. She remembered a particular one of her saying something along the lines of Kate not being touched by the Light - it didn't affect Kate, but it was still an insult! Her flat nose spread across her man-like face, she didn't have much of a bust either. Thomas said she looked like an Orc chewing a wasp…and Kate full heartily agreed. Her mother and her joked about her swinging the other way, and her short solider cut hair, they both busted out in laughter every time. Veronica disliked Kate out of all the family members, and oddly like Finnegan the most (probably because he looks like his father). She could never under why she hated her, most likely from disagreeing with her opinions on what she believed was the reasoning behind what drives peoples actions. Still, it was no reason for her to be excruciatingly unpleasant towards the family. She probably didn't like children.

'Look, I know you don't like her - and she can be sometimes hard to work with - but she's reliable and trustworthy. She'll look out for you…if you're in trouble that is.' Charles reassured after seeing the scowl on Kate's face. Kate nodded at her father's words. She never doubted her father's judgement, and there was no exception to his judgement on Veronica. She turned her head to Terry who was patiently waiting beside her, for a moment she had forgetting he was even standing there.

'Ok, let's get going.' She said to Terry. Exhaling deeply, he nodded and started towards the path which he came down from when he arrived. Kate followed, nodding at her father.

'Goodbye!' she said excitement in her voice, and rushing off with Terry.

'Goodbye, Kate.' Charles muttered under his breath, hoping that she heard his farewell. The brothers, with Samantha joining Charles, rushed to the end of the barn in hopes of getting a glimpse at their sister one last time. Kate gazed back, Terry besides her mimicking her actions, to see the family all waving her off. Young Finnegan jumping up and down, waving with joy, pouring all of his heart into flailing his arms into the air. Thomas lifting father's arm up into the air and supporting him from behind. Samantha, Nathan, and Jonathan all waving as well. Kate couldn't help but wave back at them with Terry joining in, turning slowly around to the path that awaited them. She kept her head turned when following the path until there were no sight them, or the farm. She twisted her head back around, hand clenched against her chest, Terry by her side with a humongous grin spread across his face. Her new life in Stormwind, her tale, was about to begin.


	2. Chapter 2

_Chapter 2_

'Ah there it is!' Terry pointed at the main road with relief.

'Where?' A voice called from behind him. A leaf covered Kate emerged from the bush behind, batting the leaves away from her shoulders as she placed herself beside Terry. Letting out a growl of annoyance, she continued to flail her hands around, trying effortlessly to get rid of the excess dirt left on her simple white shirt and once neatly brushed hair - still not paying attention to what Terry was referring to.

'The main road…' He answered, looking at Kate with a mischievous smile. Her eye's shot up and, just like Terry, gave a sigh of relief at the sight of it, the feel of anger washing away. At least they managed to find their way out. Somehow, inexplicitly, Terry got them lost along the path. Backtracking from the stream of water leading to the river, around a couple of gigantic trees in the thick forest, and they even got themselves into a hollow and muddy ditch. Kate was certainly not pleased about this; her appearance was ruined! Terry on the hand was gliding along filled with content, as if he'd just shook hands with the King. He loved getting all mucky, and Kate didn't. '…What's wrong with you, afraid of a bit of dirt?' He teased her. He liked to tease her when she was in a bad mood, just like Thomas did.

'Shut up…or, or….' She blurted out, trying desperately to threaten him with something. '…I'll slam you to the ground!' With a scowl, she fixed her raged-filled eyes on his smirking face. 'You don't want to get covered in mud, do you?!' quickly adding. Her feeble attempts to threaten him made her cringe, and him burst out into laughter.

'I actually wouldn't mind that. If I wasn't so polite, I'd drag you down with me…wouldn't mind seeing you all hot and sweating, wiggling out of my-'

'Oh stop it!' She hastily interrupted him with her arms tightly crossed around her chest. Was he flirting with her?

'Ok! Ok! Relax. You're way too easy to anger, Kate.' He lifted a gently smile and rubbed the back of head, sheepishly. He did have a point though. She had to stop being hot-head and reckless. It was a weakness of hers brought on by the frustrating task of taking care of her brothers, especially Thomas. He drove her insane at time. Kate exhaled, allowing the anger to subside again, and returned a warm smile back at him. 'Besides, even with dirt on you, you're still beautiful.' He stated, a tint of pink covering his faintly-freckled face.

'T-Thank you.' She couldn't bear to look at him, hiding the blush that covered her face. Within a second, he pivoted on his heel and made his way towards the cobbled grey stone road.

'We should get going. Our diversion lost us some time.' He said with a serious tone. Kate nodded, though Terry wasn't looking, and quickly swept to his side on the road. They were heading west along the almost straight road towards Goldshire, then to Stormwind.

'By the way, you're a terrible flirter…' Kate lied trying to tease him, smirking as she said it.

'Really? Now that's a first.' He responded, eyebrows raised as he glanced over his side to see her eyes on him. He saw straight through her lie, Kate could tell by the determined look on his face, telling her that he was successful in his attempts. Wait what?

'A first…what do you mean?' She asked him suspiciously as they passed over an ancient bridge, arching a stream of water leading to the river, guarded by a Stormwind Guard who nodded at them as to say "Hello" - they both nodded back.

'Well, I'm not all that "innocent" anymore, Kate.' He shot her a devilish look, a blush on his cheeks, waiting for Kate to respond. Kate's eyes widen in realisation and a shocked expression on her face.

'You have a girlfriend?!' She was eager to hear the answer.

'Not quite. It's more with…multiple girls…if you know what I mean…' He finally admitted blushing tremendously, trying not to see Kate's dumbfounded expression. She couldn't believe it! Her innocent and pure Terry having it off with women. But why was she so surprised? After seeing him for the first time in ages surely no woman could resist him, not even Kate. She wouldn't mind dating him at all - or being in bed with him. Disregarding the dirty and wonderful thought immediately, she couldn't help but ask.

'Are you a virgin?' Oh boy, he knew this question was coming. Terry slowly nodded sideways, confirming that he wasn't. She let out a giddy squeal in delight, tapping her fists together against her chest like a child. It was getting increasingly more surprising as he spoke!

'Since when did you become such a perv?' He shot a question back at her while Kate was stopping her moment of excitement.

'Not a perv…just curious…' She replied, with a hint of disappointment in her tone. Never would she of thought that Terry, of all people, would have lost his virginity before Kate had ever met a man she liked. It came back to her then: always the last one, and late as well. She hoped that didn't apply to her virginity. Still, the thought of Terry being a womanizer was an entertaining novelty…that turned out to be true.

'What's wrong?' He asked, concern in his voice. Kate gazed at him and saw he had dropped his smile and the blush had faded away.

'Nothing it's just…' Like Kate before, Terry was eager to hear the answer, easing her on with a shake of his head. 'Well, I'm a virgin…' her face hidden from his eyes, praying that he wouldn't laugh at her.

'I'm not surprised.'

'Huh?' Her head shot up with a questionable look smeared all over her face.

'You heard. With you being coped up all the time on that farm, not to mention your overprotective father, it doesn't come as a shock. Heck, I would be shocked if you weren't one.' Her expression faded. 'Cheer up; I'm sure you'd find plenty of men in Stormwind. With that attire, you'll attract the entire city.' He teased her once again, making her feel better about herself. Instead of rage, Kate felt amused and chuckled with him. She took onboard what Terry was saying and had to admit, her attire was…questionable, to say the least. Well, the barely-covering shirt only showed off her abdomen as well as showing her chest. It also made her breasts, which were obviously covered on the sides, push up, making them look more perkier and a bit larger - not that they weren't already. The rest of her was covered up with black linen pants, and some comfortable mid-night coloured walking boots.

It was only then that she noticed how far they had walked. The bridge they crossed moments ago had disappeared behind them, and a long stretch of road rolled out before them with the forest trees back to back against it. How long had they been walking? Terry certainly is an excellent pass time. Their conversations touched on topics like what happened after Terry moved, where he now lives and what he does and did at Redridge Mountains, the boys and girls at the school they used to go to together…

'That girl…what's her name…Catherina…Catherina Smith! Remember her? The one who used to pick on me…'

'Ye, I do, do you want me to tell you what happened to her?'

'Go on!'

'She got an arranged marriage with one of her cousins near Northshire, quite an ugly man. I heard they are now living in Darkshire, Duskwood!'

'No way!'

'Yes way! Duskwood perfectly fits her personality: dark, snaky, and most all terrifying!'

'Ha, serves her right!'

'You never guess what…they had kids!'

'Ah! That's disgusting! I don't want to imagine what they look like…'

Kate and Terry howled with laughter at almost all events that happen over the years. It was a shame he wasn't there to experience it with her first hand. The long stretch of road that was presented before them vanished, and the faded view of the old Goldshire Inn was at the edge of the horizon. She remembered her father specifically telling her NOT to go into the inn, a day before the journey began. He said that strange things happen in there, odd people settled down after their tiresome adventure, and worst of all the place was riddled with sex and people openly offering it to people! The poor innkeeper has a hard time controlling the place; he can't exactly throw out potential business, so it grew into a nasty trend. After a long walk, Kate felt her legs aching and would probably need to rest at Goldshire before heading off to Stormwind. A short break and a drink would be nice too. She peered over to Terry, who also looked a little tired.

'Can we stop at Goldshire for a bit?' She asked.

'Of course, do what you want. After all, this is your trip. You can order me around.' He couldn't resist teasing her. Kate smiled at him.

'Stop it…' reacting to his persistent teasing.

'But it has be quick, I'm afraid. Look it's almost dusk.' He pointed up to the sky, his finger giving the illusion he was touching the sun. Had it really been that long? It only felt like an hour at most to Kate, who was having a blast with Terry.

'Heads up!' Called out Terry. Snapping out of her thoughts, Kate noticed what seemed to be a pack of mounted horses heading straight at them with a trot. For a moment, she thought they'd break out into a gallop and charge straight at them. 'Cavalry.'

With a dash, Kate and Terry rushed towards the side the road, both taking opposite sides. They both stood frozen while the unit passed by them, Terry and Kate hidden from each other as the many horses passed by. Kate gasped in amazement; it was a sight she'd never seen before. Royal guards decked with the finest armour, carrying banners of Stormwind upright, and all riding armoured athletic looking steeds. Kate couldn't take her eyes off of them. There must have been a dozen of them, all parallel to each other with three of them per row. Not a single one glanced at either Kate or Terry, fixated on the direction they were heading like stone statues. Eventually, they moved off into the distance leaving an awe struck Kate.

'Stormwind Royal Guards. Look fancy, don't they?' Terry asked approaching Kate. She was still glaring at the guards.

'Ye.' She replied, her head facing Terry now.

'It seems strange. They only started sending that unit out a couple of years ago, after the Cataclysm. I wonder why they didn't send them out before then…' Kate shrugged in response not having an answer. '…probably just showing off.'

Answering his own question, Terry turned around and headed back along the main road towards Goldshire. Kate tailed along beside him like a dog following its master. At long last, they had managed to reach Goldshire as dusk crept near. Kate's eye brows rose as she gazed at the centre of the town. To her surprise, there weren't a lot of people around. She expected it to be bustled with people, but it wasn't. Apart from the local residents, it was mostly barren. There were a couple of people around who seemed to be tired from their quests, and someone stood beside a teethed up mount - she couldn't make out the appearance of the individual. Terry suddenly jerked around to Kate when they were stood outside a shady carriage.

'I don't suppose you'd want to split off and have a look around while were here. Get a drink at the inn or something?' He asked.

'Sure.'

'Ok then. I'll be by the mailbox outside the inn if you need anything. Hadn't got a chance to check my mail, I was in a rush to get to you this morning!'

'And why is that, were you brushing your hair before you left?' She shot back with a cheeky grin plastered on her face. He couldn't hold back a mouth-open smile from Kate's remark.

'Look who's talking. Anyway, I'll join you inside the inn when I'm finished - if we have time to spare.' He started towards the mailbox. 'We will meet out here in thirty.' Thirty minutes?! Kate wanted to stay a bit long than that; it was too late to argue with him now. As Terry was rummaging through his mail (he carried it with him along the way, strapped inside one his larger belt satchels) with a tongue stuck out in concentration, Kate took this opportunity to look at the sights, and then go inside the inn. She wanted to avoid the inn as much as possible, and as a last resort to go inside it. She had a quick look around the blacksmiths opposite the inn, but didn't go inside. Already feeling the heat from the front door, Kate just knew it was going to be astronomically scorching inside, backing away from it. If she did go inside, she'd end up all hot and sweaty…with Terry trying desperately pulling her into his lap. Dismissing the thought, she went to find what else Goldshire had to offer. She began to realise it actually didn't have much else to offer. Apart from the inn, there wasn't anything interesting to look at. The only other thing to see was a battered sign post as the road began to fork off into two directions. Before going inside the inn and witnessing a horror story, she wanted to at least find out which road they'd be taking. Just like the town itself, the sign post gave nothing of interest. The engraves on the wood withered away with no telling of what they are pointing at, and Kate was sure the sign post would crumple into dust from a single prod. Within moments, Kate succumbed to boredom. She changed her mind about staying longer and just wanted to leave. Terry was still ravaging through his mail and shoving some into the mailbox. He seemed too focused to be disturbed, and she didn't want to go inside the inn alone.

'_Maybe I should talk to someone…'_ But who to? The locals would most likely have nothing of interest to say, and the place had barely a soul to speak to. She wondered how the locals remained sane. Scanning the area eagerly to find something or someone, she fixed her eyes on a person at the stables outside the inn.

'Aha!' She relieved aloud. Finally, someone new to speak to. Striding forward to the person with confidence, she noticed the person was a he. The man looked to be quite tall, bulky, and covered shoulder to toe in sophisticated black armour gilded with brown. Strapped tightly along his shoulder, all the way to his waist, was a murderous two-handed sword. It was one of its kind, the handle forged with delicate projected patterns, and the blade was dull with a fang-like shape. His raven-black hair tied into a short ponytail that reached down to the end of his neck. He was preoccupied with going through his bags that were strapped to his armoured horse, just like the horses the Royal Guards were riding. Kate wouldn't normally approach a man that looked this dangerous, but she didn't really care this time. Anything to entertain her to pass the time should be taken advantage of, especially here in Goldshire. Planting herself behind the man, with a slight distance between them as well, he didn't seem to notice her presence.

'Excuse me? She asked him with a gently voice. The man halted his actions at the sound of her. 'I was wondering if you could please point me to which road leads to Stormwind?' She randomly asked, not thinking of anything else to start a conversion with. The man turned around to face her then, Kate almost jumped out of her skin. She wasn't expecting him to have an eye-patch, nor did she see the strap laced in his hair. It was a black eye-patch, covering his left eye, that camouflaged itself with the colour of the man's hair- she didn't realise how effective it was. His one emerald green eye glared at her, and there was silence between them. He towered over her, about a head and a half taller than Kate. It felt rather awkward and Kate was already regretting approaching him. It was as if she had asked a stupid question that was common knowledge…which it was - a very stupid question. She took that time to get a real good look at his face. A thick untidy beard, matching in colour to his hair, spread across his lower face. Scars were slashed all over it, especially the one going vertical down his covered eye. This man had certainly been in a ton of scraps and was battered beyond repair. It was only then that Kate started to appreciate the man's appearance. Sure he's worn out, but he does have some sharp features under all of that mess, and he is fairly good looking too. His eyebrows were bushy and set into default as serious-looking, just like his eye is. 'I mean…it's just…I-I'm a bit lost.' She finished with a blush of embarrassment, playing with her hands and not having the nerve to keep eye contact with him. Unexpectedly, his face elected a wolfish smile. It wasn't a vicious smile as if he wanted to eat her, but a warm friendly one.

'Yeah, it's just up that road behind you. The left fork.' His voice was husky and rough around the edges, deep as well. 'Where's your escort, girl?' Kate's eye shot up immediately, she certainly wasn't anticipating that questions - certainly not from a stranger. Was that concern in his voice as well?

'I, uh, do have one but…' Her head slowly jerked around to see Terry still messing around with his ridiculous pile of never ending mail. '…Well he's…he's a bit busy, as you can see.' Struggling to form words, she still felt nervous around the man as she turned back around to see him. With his eyebrows raised, his eyes (or eye) glanced at Terry, then back at Kate.

'I see…' The awkward silence fell upon them again. With nothing stopping her, she couldn't help but admit her disinterest of Goldshire.

'Look, I'm really bored and need something to do. And yes, he is going to be here for a while. He did say he'd finish before half an hour. I've been meaning to go into the inn, but not without him.' This was pathetic. She was almost pleading him to accompany her into the inn. 'If only someone could come with me instead…' His eyebrows raised again as if she had offended him in some way. Then he understood, and that grin of his gradually appeared on his face again.

'I suppose there's no harm in having a drink together at the inn. I'm sure this one wouldn't mind.' He said pointing at Terry. 'Come.' He motioned her to the entrance of the inn, leaving the side of his mount to join Kate's side instead.

'Kate!' Terry's voice halted their movements. Kate turned on her heel to see him standing right in front of them, not looking pleased at all. 'I've finished my mail.'

'Oh good, you can come join us for a drink lad.' Terry's eyes glared at the man who spoke, then shot a nasty look at Kate.

'Kate, a word please. In private.' Terry ordered. She heard the anger in his monotone voice. Quickly nodding at the man, she made her way towards Terry. He led her beside the exterior of the inn, and turned to face her. 'Kate, what are you doing?!' She was about the interrupt him, but Terry spoke first. 'You can't just go up to someone and ask them out. Especially someone likes him; he could be a psychopath!'

'Hey, what's your problem? He kindly offered me a drink at the inn.' She spat back. Her face with a sombre look, she crossed her arms in defence, not keeping her eyes off Terry's reddening face. 'You can't blame me for having nothing to do. I was bored!'

'That's not the point.' He countered with a stern tone. He sighed in annoyance, trying his best not to start an argument with her. 'Look, Kate, It's my duty to protect you from harm. And you're letting harm come into your way.'

'What are you talking about?'

'I don't trust him. I've seen men like him before, and I've seen the way they act…however I'm not going to stop you.'

'Huh?' Kate's hand dropped back down and her face changed to a questioning one. Kate noticed that he'd calmed down at bit.

'Kate…I…I-I care for your safety. I don't want to see you being hurt by someone like him. Think twice about what you're doing next time you do something like that, ok?' Kate felt touched by his words. He actually cared for her. Well it's his job to do so, but he generally cared for her as a friend. 'And I think I overreacted a bit when I saw him, he's probably a nice man - we'll just have to find out!' He smiled at Kate and led her back into the inn. The man was stood leaning by the wall in the entrance and nodded as they both appeared. Kate absorbed Terry's advice, but seemed to think that the man was in no way a harmful person. Without a shadow of a doubt, his appearance did suggest he was a dangerous and shady person. Despite this, Kate still saw something inside of him that told her otherwise.

'Got everything sorted out?' He asked them both, grinning in satisfaction.

'Yes. I just need to post one more letter, and then I'll join you both.'

'Alright then.' He turned his gaze towards Kate as Terry turned back around and headed towards the mailbox. 'Come on you.' He held his arm out signalling her to go first. Kate blushed at his politeness, and he tailed her into the inn. Kate wasn't going to like to sight of what was going to be around the corner. When she looked into the main body of the inn, she froze, mouth wide open in shock. There was nothing out of the ordinary. It wasn't anything remotely like the petrifying stories her father told her, no one asking for sex, in fact it was the complete opposite. Some locals were present, the innkeeper at the bar, and there were some adventures sitting around the fire in tacky armour, not like the armour Terry or the man beside her wore. Kate's opinion shifted from it being the worst place on Azeroth to the most relaxing place she'd ever been in. The inn had a welcoming, warm, and most of all a cosy atmosphere. Goldshire's inn (called the Lion's Pride inn) still held up to it's reputation of being the best attraction Goldshire has to offer, but in a completely different fashion. Hastily, the man made his way towards the bar, with Kate trailing from behind. They both sat together on the bar stools and the old innkeeper served them. The innkeeper and this man seemed to know each other quite well.

'It's good to see you back in here, Vol. I was worried the Pig and Whistle stole you from me!'

'How could I not come back and see you again? It's seems your inn needs business, I could solve that problem for you.'

'It's that Draenor expedition, this place has been dead ever since it started.'

'Yeah, the city's the same. Not many people like me prancing about that's for sure. Give it about a month or two for them to catch up and the place will be buzzing again!'

'Catch up, eh? I'm guessing you've already explored that place and finished before everyone else.' He nodded to confirm that the innkeeper was correct. 'As always…well it's good to see you back here.' He swiftly rubbed his hands. 'Let's get down to business then. The usual?'

'Please. And give this one 'ere your strongest.' He gestured to Kate. The innkeeper looked at her and gave a gentle smile.

'Ah someone new, young as well. You sure you can handle this?' Kate nodded, not knowing how to respond. The innkeeper picked up two pint-sized mugs, and headed over towards the tankards containing all kinds drinks. She wouldn't have gone for the strongest beverage they had but she didn't want to refuse the offer. At the same time it was exciting for her. Kate had never had alcohol before, and her father advised against her and the family taking it. It wouldn't hurt to have one pint. While she was waiting, she had a curious look around the inn. Her eyes flickered across towards the blazing fire with wood chairs surrounding it, and then the entrance. Catching her attention at the entrance was another man covered head to toe in leather armour, and his head hidden with a hooded cloak that dragged along the wood panelling of the floor. His attire screamed suspicion, and he stopped dead as he noticed Kate's eyes on him. Kate hastily jerked her head back around in hopes he wouldn't have saw her staring at him. Eventually he moved out of the way and glided towards the fire, sitting down without a single sound coming from him. A strange uncomfortable feeling crept up on Kate, she felt as though he was watching her closely under that hood.

'Here it is!' The innkeeper came back placing the pints in front of them with a loud thud against the wooden bar. He was standing there looking at Kate, eager to see what will happen to her. 'Drink up!' Carefully, they both grabbed the mugs in front of them. Kate peeked inside the mug and took a sniff; it was beer - strong beer. The man beside her nudged her to get her attention.

'Bottoms up!' He spoke. Lips covering the side of her mug, she tilted it upwards to the ceiling, gulping down ever last drop of beer. Within seconds, she slammed the mug down onto the bar and exhaling in relief. Glancing up at the two men, she noticed they shared a surprised face. 'Wow…' The man beside her finally said. The innkeeper looked as though he'd just saw a ghost.

'What did I tell you, Vol? You've always had good taste.' He winked at the man and smirked. That statement referred to either Kate herself or the beverage he chose. She was hoping it was the latter.

'Want another?' The man beside her asked. She noticed he had also necked down his beverage. Feeling a little tipsy and more open, she refused as politely as she could. 'That's understandable. I'll have another, thanks.' The innkeeper nodded and hurriedly refilled his pint, and once again returned with it full to the brim. He decided to scurry off to the front of the inn and ask the other adventures if they needed anything of service. This gave Kate and the man the perfect opportunity to speak to each other at long last.

'Well that was an impressive display, girl. I'm Volanthus, by the way. Volanthus Hones. Although most call me Volan or Vol for short. Or strange man who brought you a beer that one time.' Kate laughed along with him. At least he had a sense of humour about the situation, unlike Terry. 'And you are?'

'Kate. Just called me Kate. My escort's called Terry.'

'He seemed to be upset by the sight me. I can't blame him, most people usually cower away.' He admitted, still smiling wolfishly. Kate felt a bit sorry for him; he couldn't help the way he looked. Terry's suspicion of him seemed completely void after Kate witnessed how he interacted with others. He seemed to a grateful person, and a giver (well, there wasn't much else he could take). 'I noticed he actually cares a lot about you. I'm guess you two are already friends?'

'Ye, we are. Childhood friends.' Friends, but it could have been more than that.

'He's in the right mind set for an escort, warning you of the danger of "men like me".' Kate's eyes opened in surprise. He knew what they had said about him.

'How did you know about that?' She shot at him, questioning how he got that knowledge. He can't have been eavesdropping on them from the entrance of the inn; it was impossible from where he was. He let out a grunt of amusement at Kate's confusion.

'That'll wait for another time. But rest assure that I'm of no harm to you or your friend, I promise you that.' He nodded at her with his smile. Kate felt relieved that he wasn't of any harm, but the curiosity of how he managed to know what Terry said about him still puzzled her mind. She couldn't think of a logical reason behind it. 'So, tell me about yourself, Kate. Is this your first time going up to Stormwind?'

'Yes. To be honest, I'm a bit nervous. I don't know what I'll do there.'

'How long you staying?'

'It's going to be my new home.' She said with a smile.

'That's good. It'll be nice to see someone different around the city.'

'Oh, you live there too?'

'Mhm. If you're up to it, you could stay with me.' That was unexpected. Without stepping into the city, Kate had already been accommodated. Kate thought it was a bad joke and laughed awkwardly. His expression told her otherwise.

'I'll…I'll have to think about it…' She felt wary about this. Kate had only just met this man and he was already asking her to stay over at his place. This was going too fast for her.

'Alright then. Just a warning though, it's hard to find a place on your own at Stormwind, expensive too.' Kate agreed with his point. With what little gold she carried around, she couldn't afford to stay more than a couple weeks at an inn. Now with Volan's offer, she'd be able to spend the gold on what she wanted and not what she needed: new clothes, ingredients for cooking, and maybe some new books as well. Living for free was something she couldn't let up on, and she'd be a fool to refuse such an offer. 'But of course it's your choice. I'm not going to force you into it.'

'I'll decide when I've had a look around, if you don't mind.'

'Not at all, see the free sample before you test it.' He finished, his face showing a weak smile. Volan is a selfless man, and Kate felt grateful for the hospitality he was offering her. She couldn't thank him enough for saving her from the possibility of finical debt.

'Thank you…' She whispered under her breath.

'It's nothing. I'm happy to help you settle in to the city, maybe even give you a tour.' He replied to her, hearing her thanks. He was offering her too much, and Kate felt guilt embrace her. She had nothing else to offer in return.

'I won't forget this. I'll repay your kindness-' A tint of red painted on Volan's cheeks, and he rubbed the back of his neck.

'No need.' He interrupted her. 'I'm tired of getting rewards; already have enough of them as it is!' He let out a chuckle, Kate joined in too. Volan turned around on his stool, taking a swig of his drink, and looked at Terry as he came into the inn. He seemed tired, and it was no wonder. 'What took you so long, lad? Poor Katie's been waiting for you!' He bellowed across the inn. Katie? Why did he call her Katie?

'One of my letters took a while to read.' Terry answered, sitting beside Kate giving a smile at her. The innkeeper rushed back to the bar as he sat down.

'Give this lad your strongest.'

'No thank you, I don't drink.' Kate shot him a mischievous looked.

'Come on Terry, join in on the fun.' Terry couldn't say no to Kate. Letting out a sigh, he gave in reluctantly.

'Oh alright…' With a blink of an eye, the innkeeper returned with a pint of beer - the same beer Kate had. 'Thank you. Who's paying for this by the way?' He jerked his head to see Kate and Volan.

'Don't worry, it's on me. Drink up. I'm Volanthus Hones, but you can call me Vol or Volan if you want. Katie's already told me about you.' Volan answered. Terry picked up the pint and took a small sip. His mouth swilled around, trying to get a good taste of the drink. 'You should have seen her. Katie took it all down in one gulp.' Terry immediately gave Kate a shocked expression.

'Kate!' He moaned at her.

'I only had one. Come on Terry, relax. We're having fun!' Terry gave out a sigh of annoyance. Instead of telling her off, he just took another mouthful of beer. He gave up on trying to tell her what's wrong and right and didn't really care anymore. Eventually, Terry finished his beer. He felt a little uneasy and light headed after that.

'We'd probably want to get moving and up to Stormwind now.' Volan said.

'We?' Terry asked him, looking confused.

'Yes. Volan's kindly offered a place for me to stay at Stormwind.' Terry shot him a suspicious look and Volan just smiled back at him. From the corner of her eye, Kate noticed that the man sat besides the fire had moved to the entrance, and disappeared out of sight. Something felt off about this.

'You wouldn't mind another man protecting Katie, would you?' Terry's face went completely red and turned his head to face the wall in a huff.

'Fine…' He quietly answered. Kate, trying to hold back a giggle at his subtle tantrum, patted his shoulder playfully. Volan shot up from his stool and placed a gold coin and a couple of silver on the bar from one of his belt pouches. The innkeeper snatched it from the table and placed the coins inside his pocket.

'Thanks, Vol. I hope to see you soon, and you two as well.'

'Thanks for the beers. Come on you two.' Kate and Terry slowly rose from their seats. Volan motioned them forward, and led them outside of the inn. He broke off from them and moved towards his horse, untying the reins from the fence and dragged it along back to Kate and Terry. Making nickering noises, the horse was clearly happy to see Volan again.

'Stormwind's up that road.' Volan nodded towards the left fork in the road straight in front of them. 'We'll be walking the way.' Without further interruptions, they all started towards the road that led to Stormwind. The horse seemed to be annoyed at Volan for pulling him along, its hooves tapping deliberately on the stone path. There was silence between the three.

'It's a bit of walk to get there…' Volan state, breaking the silence. '…Where do you both come from?'

'Nearby, the East-vale Logging Camp.' Kate answered. 'And he comes from Redridge Mountains.' She answered for Terry, who was trying his best to avoid conversation with Volan.

'Redridge, eh? Heard the Orc problem's getting worse there.'

'Yeah…' Terry answered vaguely. Instead of looking at Volan, he kept his eyes fixed on the road ahead, spiralling around like a snake. Kate nudged him and gave him an annoyed look to say "be more polite!", but he didn't want to be polite to him.

'I've got a question for you…' Terry asked him. Oh no, Kate thought he was going to insult the man and call him out. '…How old are you?' That question wasn't as bad as Kate imagined, and she felt relieved. Volan raised his eyebrows; he wasn't expecting a question like that.

'Twenty-nine, going on thirty soon.' He answered. Twenty-nine?! He was ten years older than Kate. Her father wouldn't be impressed at all, seeing her befriending a man significantly older than her. Terry grinned as if he had accomplished something grand.

'As always, old men hitting on young women they can't get…' Now that was uncalled for. He wasn't hitting on Kate, just being generous. She was surprised at Terry's attitude towards him, and gave him a nasty glare in return. Volan didn't seemed to be bothered by his attempt to get under his skin, and instead gave a short laugh.

'Actually, the young women hit on me.' He corrected Terry, giving him a wolfish smirk. 'You obviously don't seem too happy with your friend talking to me, or are you jealous of me getting all the attention?' Terry growled in annoyance, going red with anger. Kate didn't feel like interrupting, it would cause more damage than it would actually heal. The situation turned itself on its head: Volan was getting under Terry's skin now.

'Why don't you just mount that horse of yours and leave us?! No one asked you to come along!'

'Now, now. I'm escorting Katie as well. Come to think of it, I'm escorting both of you.' Terry let out a grunt of anger and turned to the road ahead. 'Besides, I'm not that old. How are old are you then?' Terry sighed again, and finally answered.

'Twenty-one.'

'Twenty-one and still fighting Orcs in Redridge?' He snorted. 'When I was about your age, I was already on the front-line leading one of the raids on Ahn'Qiraj.'

'Shut up! It's not my fault I'm still there. I have family to protect unlike you!' Terry yelled letting off all his steam. Kate saw that Volan's smile dropped and his face took the form of anger. She had to intervene or she would have to escort herself carrying corpses on her shoulders.

'That's enough! Both of you!' She bellowed, just like she did with her brothers. The pair of them remained silent as she spoke. 'You're acting like children!' Kate's lecturing worked, and they both concentrated on the road ahead. She was glad they had stopped their dick measuring contest and actually focused on their jobs. In their silence, Kate sensed something was off. Like at the inn, her instincts were telling her someone was watching her. From the corner of her eye, she was sure there were shadows moving behind the trees. Suddenly, Kate caught a glimpse of a dagger bolting towards her from the side of the road. Immediately tilting her head as far back as possible, the dagger missed her by an inch and was now clamping in a tree trunk, shacking violently. Now on the floor laying with her hands pusher her up, Kate shook her head around in worry, trying to find the culprit behind this. Just before she fell, Terry and Volan drew their weapons and surrounded Kate with their back to her. She pushed herself up and drew her daggers.

'Are you alright?' Terry asked her in panic, not looking at her.

'That was close…' She panted. Her heart was still beating from that life or death moment.

'You got balls to challenge us! Come on, show yourself! Don't be a coward!' Volan shouted at the top of his voice. After he said that, a group of people emerged from the sides of the road, surrounding the three in a circle. Kate turned her head to see them all. They were all in blackened leather armour, all Human, and blood-red balaclavas concealed their lower face.

'Bandits…' Terry muttered.

'No ordinary bandit: Defias.' Volan corrected him. Kate thought the Defias had been wiped out when their leader was killed many years ago. It didn't matter now, but what did they want from them? Clearly it was one of their lives. Kate gasped as a man strode towards them. It was the same man from the inn before. She knew something was off about him. He didn't remove his hood, but Kate noticed that he was wearing an Alliance insignia on his belt hidden under his cloak. It must have been someone who recently betrayed the Alliance, or someone working for them undercover. Without further or do, the man lunged towards Kate with a long demonic-looking dagger. Shoving Kate aside, Volan reacted and parried his blow with his two-hander, disarming him in the process. Volan aimed for his head with a powerful strike, but the man quickly dodged his blow and tried to pick up his dagger. The other's surrounding them lunged forward at them. Terry was faced with about four of them on one side, and made short work of two of them already. His long sleek sword cutting through their bodies in two consecutive strikes. Even the horse joined in, tramping the Defias behind Kate. Meanwhile, Volan sliced two of them trying to help their master, and Terry slammed his shield into the jaw of one them heading for Kate, stabbing the other one in the stomach. Without a single kill yet, Kate ran to safety behind a tree, hoping that no one saw her and away from the fray. Volan picked up the leader with one hand and threw him against the tree Kate was hid behind, bones crunching in the process and knocking him out. One of them found her behind the tree and grabbed her from behind. Struggling to get free, Kate flipped her dagger around in her hand and aimed it precisely at his lower torso. To her surprise, the dagger pierced into his armour, and the man wailing in pain letting go of her. With little time before he could strike her again, Kate ran towards him stabbing the daggers simultaneously into his neck. She couldn't stop herself, pressuring the daggers deeper into his flesh. With a jerk of the blade out of his throat, blood splattering onto her shirt sleeves, and he fell backwards lifeless. Her face was in shock, trembling at her actions. She couldn't believe it. She killed someone! She dropped the daggers to the floor, and tried her best to hold back her tears. This wasn't supposed to happen to her, she didn't want to become a heartless murderer.

'Kate!' Terry appeared next to her, covered in blood. He pulled her around to the other side of the tree, the entire path now painted with scarlet and corpses littering the path. To her relief, Volan was still alive and, by the looks of it, didn't break a sweat. He too was dripping with blood. He turned to face them both, and gave them his animalistic smile. One could mistake him for a psychopath at that moment. Something stirred under Kate, the leader was still alive. He was ready with a dagger dripping with some sort of liquid, and lunged once more towards Volan unexpectedly. Kate immediately reached for her daggers, but realised they had dropped to the floor behind the tree. Without anything else to do, she called out to him.

'LOOK OUT!' Before Volan could turn his head, the man's dagger had already scraped his armour and completely ignored it. It scratched the skin of his left leg. With a small wince, Volan kicked him in the face, sending him flying to the ground. The man reached into his cloak once more, and came out with some grey dull powder in his hand. Throwing it to the ground, the area around him erupted with smoke. The three of them coughed as the smoke clouded around them. After it dissipated, the man had vanished out of sight. All three of them hurriedly surveyed the area, but he was nowhere to be found. He had escaped by the skin of his teeth.


End file.
